Tune in, Turn up, Drop Beats

Share This Post

Photo courtesy of The Windish Agency
Rinsed has given Jacques Greene an opulent to his (new) New York home.

Vikings of electronic music

BY VONYX (soundcloud.com/mikawvawn) | Growing up, two Norwegian twins lived down my street — Magnus and Thomas. I remember walking over to their highly organized house, hanging out with blondie and his brown-haired brother day after day. Their kitchen always smelt of pastry dough. Their mother always had a placid, straight-lipped smile, tough enough to survive frozen tundra. Everything about their house was fairly quiet and normal, until the twins went outside.

Any sport that risked bone breaking and parental scolding was their passion. Saturdays they’d ride mountain bikes down woodsy switchbacks behind our school. Sundays they’d backflip ten feet into the air and happily plummet to the grass beside the trampoline.

Those tiny kids were cats, always landing on their feet, no matter what stunt they were pulling.

Magnus once filmed a video of himself snowboarding down a hill, soaring off of a jump and grinding on the top of a soccer goal, ten feet high. There is no Norwegian word for risk. Only fun. I tried to keep up with them, but the scars and bruises added up too quickly.

Mrs. Jensen, their mom, would stand at the windowsill facing the trampoline, watching them soar past the roofline as though she were watching a blizzard coming in. She’d probably be proud if she knew they have at least 50,00 views on their stunt-filled YouTube channel.

The delightfully crazy twins finally left, with all of their Scandinavian danger-loving attitude. Yet in honor of their ever-happy demeanor, I would like to feature a few DJs who hail from the rocky coastline above the Arctic Circle (and one who hails from Chicago).

Rinsed presents Jacques Green & Cashmere Cat
Rinsed is a party that is half art installation and half high-end dance. It’s as much about the space as it is the music. Previously, they have thrown down in an all white loft with walls that curve gently from floor to ceiling. No corners. The DJ booth was a cocoon of cloth. They had burlesque dancers dangle from the ceiling, grabbing partygoers and pulling them high above the dance floor. But apparently that’s where they draw the line.

Rinsed is exciting and inventive. If you want to make it to their next event, you must be on the mailing list to receive the secret address.

This party is all about welcoming the new New Yorkers. DJ and producer Jacques Greene will be headlining, as the Montreal born deck slinger prepares for a long line of gigs here in his new city. Greene has been exploding onto the scene with slow-building, deep grooves. He has a few new releases up on Soundcloud (soundcloud.com/jacquesgreene) available for free download. Along the lines of recent trends, there are some retro R&B samples laid over melancholy synth stabs and ethereal basslines. It’s hot.

Cashmere Cat, another recent transplant to New York, hails from Norway and will be taking over the decks earlier in the night. His style is much different. Happy arpeggios overtop lush hills of strings all packed under hip hop/trap beats. Seeing it written down doesn’t make any sense. You have to hear Fjordghetto thug music yourself.

Fixed + Verboten Presents: Todd Terje & Lindstrøm
Fixed + Verboten have been packing lineups like they were Joe Girardi in the dugout. You can’t ignore it. With recent events putting proper DJs back in Manhattan, this promotions company has single-handedly given the Brooklyn scene a run for its money. However, instead of beating them, they’re joining. Rumor has it that Verboten plans on opening a nightclub in Williamsburg with hours as late as 6am on weekends. They are keeping their momentum going.

On the topic of fjordrøckers: Another Norseman, Todd Terje will be headlining the next Fixed +Verboten smash in his first US show. He’s riding the recent wave of Scandinavian nu-disco to it’s fullest.

“Inspector Norse,” a song he released a few years ago is groovy, catchy and strikingly reminiscent of the “Beverly Hills Cop” theme music in the best, cheesiest way possible. For a burly man who spends three months out of the year living in punishing arctic darkness, his music is pretty perky. You gotta hand it to the Norwegians — they’re badasses.

Lindstrøm is peeking out right behind Terje on the show bill. His sound is quite a bit more like Cashmere Cat in that it’s happy and more in tune with the hip-hop side than Terje’s disco. The reverb and atmosphere of his mixes lend his music a strange and mystical vibe.

This is not hip-swinging, hand-clapping music. It’s more of an arm-folding, head-bopping kind of jam. Picture yourself on a cold Norwegian hillside watching the Northern Lights twinkle behind the clouds. It’s serene. Majestic. Suddenly off in the distance, a boombox trolls up the hillside lulling some real thuggish, drug-dealing music. Welcome to Lindstrøm.

Photo courtesy of the artist
Todd Terje may hail from a harsh climate, but his disco is all smiles.

Frankie KnucklesFrankie Knuckles is known as The Godfather of House Music. Back in 1983, he sped up old disco records, added some synthesizers here and there and made thousands groove at his Chicago nightclub, Warehouse. It was immensely popular in the city’s gay nightlife scene. The sound was new, exciting and like nothing else people had heard — pure adrenaline-fueled, sexy grooves. Music to move the soul. People on Chicago’s streets couldn’t get enough of the music Frankie was spinning at the House. They started calling it Warehouse music, but soon, it was just shortened to “House music.”

Unbelievably, Frankie Knuckles, the guy who birthed an entire musical movement, is still at it.

At 58 years old, he is well into his senior citizen discount years. Yet there’s no doubt that Frankie will put on a clinic at Cameo Gallery — all night long.